Opus 12 (company)


Opus 12 is a chemical technology company based in Berkeley, California. They develop technology to convert CO2 into profitable chemicals, such as plastics and transportation fuels. Currently, the company uses metal catalysts to produce synthetic gas, methane, and ethylene.

History

Originally launched under the name Obtainium in 2014, Opus 12 was officially founded in 2015 by Dr. Kendra Kuhl, Dr. Etosha Cave, and Nicholas Flanders. The company was part of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's first Cyclotron Road cohort, an incubator program that aids in the creation of environmentally beneficial companies. Since then, the company has won multiple awards including the Keeling Curve prize, Ocean Exchange's WW Orcelle award, the Roddenberry prize, and Forbes' Change the World competition. The company has also been featured on the television show as a company providing a potential solution to greenhouse gas emissions.

Technology

Nicholas Flanders describes the company's technology as "industrial photosynthesis" to create jet fuel and diesel from carbon dioxide. Their technology has been shown to convert CO2 from raw biogas into carbon neutral methane.
Opus 12 utilizes polymer electrolyte membrane electrolysis, which splits apart water molecules into its component pieces via the application of electricity. By adding a catalyst to the cathode, they are able to split up CO2 into CO and O2.
In February 2020, Opus 12 partnered with Mercedes and Trinseo to create the world's first C-pillar made with polycarbonate from CO2 electrolysis.
Opus 12 plans to scale up their technology to an industrial-sized shipping container, which would enable them to produce larger quantities of product.